The Claw
by Kool Broadway Reader
Summary: You know,I could teach you how to play and actually win these claw games."Gwen shook her head."I wouldn't waste your time. I'm a hopeless case when it comes to the claw."Trent laughed."Oh come on, you can't be that bad.""Trust me, she is!" R&R please!


**Ok, there are thousands of reasons why I wrote this, but I won't rant. To make it easy I'm not in a happy mood (I'm far from happy . . .) so in hopes of cheering myself up I wrote this. Yes, once again I wrote another Gwen and Trent. (I'm not giving up on them, I don't think Duncan and Gwen can last.)**

**I don't own Total Drama. I only own the plot and Gavin. **

**Dedication: Dad, I'm not sure if you will ever read this but I want to say, thank you for wasting countless dollars on these claw machines just so you could teach me. You helped me find something I am good at and if it wasn't for you, then . . . well maybe we would have less stuffed animals around here. :) Anyway thanks daddy, you are one great teacher.**

**My tall buddy (for her sake I'm not putting her name), I know you defiantly won't read this but you are just as great at these games as I am and I want to thank you for helping me with playing the giant claw and winning that prize (I couldn't see what it looked like on the other side, too many people were crowding it. So that is where my tall buddy came in). I love you buddy!**

**Ok now into the fic.**

"Why don't these things ever win!" Gwen screamed at her failed fifth attempt. She shook the money eating machine as if something would happen but nothing. The girl just lost about two dollars on the game, but still no prize was in her hand. She huffed a muffled breath and started walking away.

"Come on Gwen, please one more time!" Begged the blacked haired girl's younger brother. Gwen shot her sibling a harsh glare and sighed.

"Gavin don't you understand these games are rigged! You can never win anything!"

"Nuh-uh!" Gavin argued back at his sister." Just last week I saw someone win this game, and on the first try too!"

"Well good for them because I am a failure at this!" Gwen muttered, however Gavin wasn't going to give up so easily.

"Please Gwen! You have to win, it is Tammy's birthday party tomorrow and I don't have anything to give her!" Gwen raised an eyebrow at her seven-year old brother.

"Whoa, whoa! Back up. Her party is tomorrow? Why didn't you tell me, why could have stopped at the near bye toy store instead of wasting my money on this thing!" Gwen shouted having the whole pizzeria looking over at the younger brother-older sister pair. Gavin took a piece of his shaggy brown hair and twirled it around his finger; something he did whenever he was in the dog house.

"Uh . . . it slipped my mind. Please Gwen please! One more try!" Gavin once again begged and went down on his knees making most of the small restaurant look back on them again.

This did not go unnoticed by Gwen. "Ok ok," she shut her brother up so people could go on and enjoy their pizza. "One more time and if not then I give up!"

The Goth walked back up to the machine and put fifty cents in the slot. Gwen grabbed the control and lazily pressed the start button. The claw in the machine maneuvered itself to the middle. Moving the control to the right, the silver crane lay above dozens of fluffy, colorful stuff animals and toys.

"Ok. . . Go for that one!" Gavin pointed to a brown teddy bear in a pink ballerina costume surrounded by several other stuffed toy bears. Gwen nodded and moved the control around so that the claw would be above the designated bear.

Meanwhile, the sibling's antics are being watched . . .

"Those two have no idea how to play do they?" Trent asked his best friends. Currently the small groups of four were happily chomping down on an extra cheesy yet overly greasy large pizza.

The teenage boy with a green Mohawk shrugged. "I don't know dude, I never played those games. I always hated the prizes."

"How could you hate the prizes Duncan?" The tan man with a white beanie asked in utter shock. "They are so cute and adorable!"

"DJ, Duncan's don't do 'cute and adorable'. Besides, those claw games just put a hole in my pocket and I need cash." Duncan answered.

"They are alright." Geoff said. "I mean I played a few times to try to win Bridgette a toy dolphin."

Trent, who asked the question in the first place, wasn't even listening to the conversation his three best friends were holding. His eyes and brain were concentrating on the young woman who was playing the game.

Somehow, the way her black and teal hair shaped her beautiful pale face made the teenage boy swoon, something that was very un-Trent like. Oh and that voice! It was slightly raspy but somehow it made her more angelic than all the other teenage girls with high pitched obnoxious vocal chords.

"Trent! Trent! Hello? Is someone in there?" Geoff waved a hand in front of Trent's emerald green eyes in hope of breaking him out of his daze.

"Huh? Oh yea." Trent slowly took a bite out of his pizza and attempted to listen and participate in the conversation Duncan, Geoff, and DJ were holding but his mind was still on that poor girl trying to win a cheap toy.

Trent watched closely as Gwen pressed the 'Grab!' button. The claw went down toward the toy and dug into the sea of stuffed animals. The emerald green eyed teenager bit his lip and he had to fight back at the urge to scream at them! He watched anxiously as the claw closed in but the piece of metal didn't pick up any toy.

The little boy standing next to the sixteen year old girl started complaining at her while she just argued back.

"Come on Gwen, one more time!" He whined.

"Gavin I said no! I don't have any spare change left on me!" Gwen walked away from the machine leaving a very disappointed kid. The younger boy pouted and stomped his foot, but his older sister wasn't paying attention.

Gavin walked back over to the machine and pressed his face against the hand-print stained glass. His eyes were glued to that toy.

"I am going to win that toy for that kid . . ." Trent muttered and dug around in his pocket for extra change.

"Dude, you don't even know the boy. Besides, he sounds like a brat." Duncan stated before taking a sip of his soda.

"Oh come on. It looks like he really wants it." Trent said uneasily.

DJ raised an eyebrow at his guitar playing friend. "I think there is a bigger reason why Trent wants to play." DJ looked over at the Goth and then back at Trent, who pretended to look shocked.

"So what? I find her cute and maybe if I help her brother I could get her digits."

"No really?" Duncan asked sarcastically. "I just thought you were going to impress them by winning a stupid prize on the first try."

Trent stood up and walked away from the table but he quickly turned around and faced Duncan. "And I'm doing it for that reason too."

Duncan smirked while DJ and Geoff just shook their heads in disbelieve. "Go get her tiger." Duncan whispered before bringing his attention to the mocha haired girl sitting the next table.

Trent casually walked up to the claw game. He noticed that the little boy was still glued to it. The teenage boy coughed making the younger of the two jump.

"Sorry . . ." Gavin apologized and stepped out of the way. Trent stepped up to the game and looked at the brown haired boy.

"There is nothing to be sorry for." Trent smiled and surveyed the prizes that lay inside the game. He noticed one toy sticking up; it was a light brown teddy bear with a creamy colored patch around the eye. Instead of a pink ballerina costume, the plush was wrapped up in a light blue sundress.

Trent placed his quarters in the machine and pressed 'Start!' He moved the control around so that the claw was over the bear he was aiming to win.

Gavin watched wide eyed and Gwen quietly observed; she had nothing better to do anyway. Trent waited patiently for the claw to stop moving. Once it was remotely still, he adjusted the claw so that it was in the perfect position to grab the cheap toy.

With plenty of time left, Trent pressed 'Grab!' Gavin, Gwen and Trent watched as the claw went down. The crane dug deep into the ocean of stuff animals. It landed right on top of the bear Trent was going for.

The claw closed and it grabbed the toy on the way. The thing raised and moved over to the opening, dropping the toy in. Both Gwen and Gavin starred at Trent as if he had purple hair.

"How the hell did he do that?" Whispered an astonished Gwen, never had she seen someone win at one of those games . . . and on the first try too!

Trent picked the toy up and walked over to Gavin.

"That was so cool!" Gavin practically yelled.

"Thanks, I overheard you saying how much you wanted a bear so I figured I would give it a try. So here." The emerald green eyed male handed the little boy the bear. Gavin lit up like a Christmas tree. "Sorry but I couldn't get the ballerina bear for you."

"Aw man! This is so cool! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Gavin walked over to the table and Gwen looked up a Trent who was walking back to his own.

"How did you do that?"

Trent turned around and faced Gwen. "Do what?"

"Win of course. You are the first person that I have seen who has actually succeeded on actually winning on those things. "Gwen stated, Trent just smiled at her; making Gwen blush.

"It is actually quite easy." Trent told her. The two of them experienced a few moments of awkward silence until an idea popped in Trent's mind.

"You know, I could teach you how to play and actually win this."

Gwen shook her head. "I wouldn't waste your time. I'm a hopeless case when it comes to the claw. "

Trent laughed. "Oh come on, you can't be that bad."

"Trust me, she is!" Gavin commented. Gwen shot a death glare at her younger brother who sheepishly smiled.

"You could be great at this if you actually knew how to do it. Are you free tomorrow or any time this weekend?"

"Um . . . I have to drop my brother off at a birthday party at three tomorrow, but I am available after that." Gwen said. Gavin just looked at his older sister with a blank expression on his face.

"Awesome, why don't we meet at the arcade that is in mall?" Trent suggested.

"You mean the mall next to the old folk's home?" Gwen asked.

"Yup, is that a problem?"

"No, I was just making sure I had the right place . . . hey, you never told me your name." Gwen said and Trent just faced palmed himself.

"I should have told you that in the first place. I'm Trent." He extended his hand. Gwen extended hers and shook it.

"Gwen and it is a pleasure."

"Order number fifty-six, your pizza is ready." The lady at the counter said into the microphone. Gavin smiled at the fact that he could finally go home, but Gwen and Trent just frowned.

"Perfect timing . . ." Gwen muttered sarcastically under her breath.

"Um . . . here." Trent fished out a card from his pocket and handed it to Gwen who just raised an eyebrow.

"You have your own business card?"

"Err . . . yeah kind of. My dad is an accountant and he wants me to be one . . . and um-"Trent attempted to support the reason why he had his own business card but he failed miserable. Gwen just chuckled and told him that she would catch up with him later at the mall.

The brother sister duo grabbed their pizza and left the restaurant. Trent walked back to his seat where his buds were eyeing him suspiciously.

"What?"

"You should know what dude! We want details." Duncan stated with his signature smirk.

"Oh my gosh you guys are acting like Katie and Sadie."

"Did you get her digits?" Geoff proceeded the interrogation.

Trent shook his head. "I'm going to teach her how to play at the mall tomorrow, she has my card and if something comes up then she can call me."

"Oh you got a date." DJ commented.

"I wouldn't consider it a date . . . more like a lesson. I'll be her tutor on how to play."

"Whatever dude." Duncan said and engaged them into another conversation about motorcycles.

Gwen looked at her time on her black cellular device. Currently the misunderstood teenager was sitting outside of the mall's arcade on a hard wooden bench waiting for Trent.

She already felt like an idiot; she practically set herself up on a blind date. Seriously, she barely knew this guy for all of ten minutes. For all Gwen knew, he could be a freak. Yet again, what freak would know how to play a childish game? Ok . . . maybe a few but still.

Gwen placed her phone back in her pocket and sighed. Maybe coming here was a bad idea? She could live without the machine.

"Hey Gwen!" She looked up at the sound of her name. Trent came sprinting down toward her. She couldn't help but stare at how his messy black hair neatly fell in a perfect shape around his sparkling green eyes. When her gray eyes made contact with his, Gwen sensed a rush of heat in her face.

"Hey Trent." She said while trying to look around and get that blush off her face.

"So are you ready for your lesson?"

Sighing she replied," ready as I'll ever be. I still don't understand why you are helping me with this. It is like a magician telling all of his secrets." Gwen told Trent as they walked into the arcade.

The mall's game room was very big, however it looked highly cramped due to all the video games, claw machines, air hockey tables and whatever an arcade had, this game room was full of. Eerie, yet cheerful noises came to the video games. It was as if they were begging whoever passed by to choose them to play.

"Ok," Trent stopped at a small crane game filled with small bean bag animals. "I guess we will start here. I need to exchange the dollar bills for tokens. I want you to examine the animal position and try to see what toy you can try and win."

Gwen nodded and looked inside the machine. It was mainly the little toys she used to collect when she was six. The colorful and decorative bears had been a small fad in the eighties and she took a liking to them after the trend of owning at least a dozen died down.

The teenage girl carefully surveyed all of the toys. Each one was positioned in every which way. Some had their whole bodies revealed, other's just the head. Then you have the occasion ones that stick up from the rear end.

Just from looking at the, Gwen obviously knew that the bears on the bottom were out. She could only try to win the stuffed animals that were on the top layer.

In a matter of seconds Trent came back with a giant cup of tokens. "So, see any beanie animals you could try to win?"

"Well . . ." Gwen hesitantly started, "I think maybe the blue bear, the red bear with black stripe or that yellow and black bear with its face sticking up." Trent quickly looked at the toys she suggested.

"Not bad. Except . . ." His voice trailed off.

"Except what?" Gwen asked nervously.

"Ok, for the bear that looks like a bee it is too dug in; meaning there are too many other toys on top of it and that its position isn't great. You could probably be able to just grab the head, but the weight of the other toys wouldn't let it budge."

"Oh . . ."

"Trust me; it is a simple mistake people make when playing. However with that blue one, see how its body is slightly lifted?"

Gwen just nodded in response; taking in every single piece of advice that her cute teacher gave her.

Trent continued, "You could easily get that one. Same goes for the red one."

"Alright, seems easy enough."

"So do you want to try?"

"I guess, but is that it only besides knowing what cheap junk is the right one to grab?"

Trent shook his head no and explained how the positioning on the claw affected it too.

"Come on, let's give it a shot. I'll help you out."

Nervously Gwen picked up a token and put it in the slot of the machine. She pressed 'Start' and without her hand on the control the claw moved toward the middle.

"Alright, now move the claw over to whatever bear you are trying to win." Trent instructed.

Gwen did what she was told and went over to the blue stuffed animal.

"Now what?" She asked.

"The claw is still wiggling around. Wait until it stops so that you can adjust the position. "

A few seconds later, Gwen positioned it so that hopefully the claw would grab the toy she was aiming for. Trent twisted his face as he saw the small mistake Gwen was doing. She wasn't letting the claw calm down every time she adjusted it. However, the cool teenager wasn't going to tell her that. She was going to learn by trial and error.

"Is that good?"

"We well have to see." Gwen huffed at Trent's unhelpful response. However she pressed 'Grab' anyway. With much anticipation both the Goth and teenage boy watched as the claw slowly went down.

Trent shook his head while Gwen just watched in hopes that the Claw would take the toy. Unfortunately her first try was unsuccessful. By just a few inches, the Crane dug into a patch of green and purple bears instead of the blue one Gwen was aiming for.

"What, the stupid thing was right over it! I swear all of these games are rigged!"

"No this Claw isn't; later on I will show you the ones that aren't fair. You made a major mistake while positioning."

"What, what did I do wrong?" Gwen asked slightly annoyed.

"When you were positioning you need to constantly stop and wait for the claw to stop moving, that way you can see if it is really in the right position or not. Since it was wiggling, you where off a few inches. "Trent explained.

"Oh . . ."

"Want to try again?" Trent held out a token and Gwen took it. Carefully, she followed his instructions. Once she made sure everything was perfect, she pressed the button and waited anxiously.

The claw dug in and grabbed the blue bear. Both Crane and bear rose. Gwen smiled at her accomplishment, however victory wasn't going to last. The toy ended up slipping due to the motion of the moving claw. Gwen's smile disappeared as soon as the bear landed back into the pile of toys.

Her frown didn't go unnoticed by Trent.

"Hey it's alright. At least you got it. Besides, I think we can move on to the other claw games now." Trent stated and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Alright."

Practically Trent spent the whole afternoon teaching her how to play. Occasionally he threw in pointers how to help her succeed in winning. He showed Gwen how to look at different angles to make sure that the claw was directly over each toy. Trent also showed her which claw games to ignore.

"Alright, see this game?" Trent asked his pupil while pointing over to one of the many claw games the arcade had to offer.

Gwen nodded," It just looks like an ordinary claw; although all of the toys are too dug in." She stated.

"Good observation and you are right. However take a look at the claw and the toys." Gwen quickly glanced at the small piece of metal, then at the overly sized toys, and back at the claw again.

"I don't get it . . ."

"Well, the claw is too small and the toys are gigantic. These are the ones that are rigged; due to the sizes you can't win anything."

"Well that makes perfectly good sense. " Gwen said bluntly.

Trent laughed and they went back to –in his case, teaching and in Gwen's case, learning- to play the claw.

Hours slipped by like rain on a pane of glass. The two friends spent the whole afternoon playing the game and trying to win prizes. Occasionally a kid in the arcade would come over and watch Gwen attempt to win a doll or toy animal.

Trent had to admit, she wasn't the best at playing the claw machine, but she wasn't the worst either. Within the whole afternoon, Gwen ended up winning three toys, although it took her at least a dozen tries. They progressed back to the first claw machine they tried.

"Why do you want to try this one again?" Trent asked her, his voiced filled with curiosity.

"I guess I want to succeed at this one." She said with a shrug.

"Determined, I like it."

Gwen let out a chuckle and followed all of the steps. She quickly pressed the button and the claw went down, grabbing the bear. It slowly moved over toward the open slot and dropped the prize in.

"Alright Gwen!" Trent high-fived the Goth.

"Thanks." She smiled and started walking away from the machine.

"Aren't you going to pick up your prize?"

Gwen shook her head. "Nah, I don't need it. I've already won a few anyway. I'll let an unexpected player get it next time he or she plays."

"Hey Trent!" A thick- accented voice said. The two teenagers both turn around to see the arcade worker standing in front of them. Even though it was the middle of summer, the worker sported a jacket, along with a toque.

"Hey Ezekiel. This is Gwen." Trent introduced. The Goth and Ezekiel exchanged 'hellos'.

"Looks like you're teaching another girl, eh?"

Gwen raised an eyebrow at Trent. "Excuse me?"

"Yea, Trent is our best costumer. It seems like every other day he brings girls here to teach them how to play. Heck he even said it is a great way to start a relationship eh." Ezekiel babbled on and on, however he was unaware of how much he had put one of the arcade's best customers in a huge pickle.

Gwen's face was turning a deep shade of red. "Trent," she grunted through her teeth, "talk, NOW!" She fiercely pulled him over to a dark corner of the game room.

"Gwen, I swear to God! I never said that, Duncan said it, not me!" Trent attempted to defend himself.

"Oh really, than explain why you bring dates here?"

"I don't bring dates, I teach my buddies girlfriends Gwen. Last time it was that surfer chick Bridgette, who is Geoff's girl. Please Gwen, believe me."

"Yea yea, so this was the time to get a girl? Me being specific?"

"Fine, I'll admit that I like you ok? However, I wanted to teach you because it is my way of showing off a hidden talent that you may also possess. .You aren't the best student Gwen, but you are pretty good."

She scoffed and started to calm down. "I bet I can't beat you. I suck at pretty much everything except art."

An idea came inside Trent's head. "I bet you could beat me . . ."

"No I can't."

"Then prove it." Trent took a hold on Gwen's arm and they two sort of sprinted over to the far side of the arcade.

Gwen stood and her jaw dropped. Standing five feet away from her was the biggest Claw game she had ever seen. It was at least fifteen square feet and almost as tall as the ceiling. The Claw itself looked like a giant silver three-legged spider. Inside the gigantic Claw machine held overly large toys.

"Impressive huh? I have enough tokens for three tries. I haven't played this one yet because it was always out of order, but it obviously isn't today. To be fair, I'll have one try and I'll give you two since you're a beginner."

Gwen looked at him and with a smirk she said, "You're on."

Trent smiled. "Great, alright. So whoever gets a prize first wins. Or, if we both receive a prize, whatever one is largest wins."

"Sounds fair to me, you are up." The guitar playing teen stepped up and placed all of the tokens in the machine. He hit the buttons which moved the claw and pressed 'Grab.' The claw lowered and it picked up a light green fuzzy gorilla around the size of a two foot pole. It dropped into the slot and Trent lifted the door. Annoying 'Winner,' music played in the background making everyone look over at them.

"Beat that!" Trent stately smugly. Nervously Gwen stepped up to the monster of the game and anxiously pressed 'Start.' Slowly she moved the claw toward a toy that wasn't dug in. She quickly went over to the side of the machine to make sure her angles were good. After triple checking she went back and pressed 'Grab.'

The metal spider went down and grabbed the large pink teddy bear toy she was aiming for. The crane raised however once it jerked toward the open slot the prize fell off, wiping a rare smile off of the girl's face.

"One more try left ..." Trent said in a sing-songy voice.

"I would prefer if the peanut gallery would please shut up, I am trying to concentrate!" Gwen started her second and final try. She maneuvered the claw to where the large pink teddy bear had landed.

The girl made sure to let the giant claw calmed down before she made her final move. Time was running out and she had to make the move quick. However, while checking to make sure that the claw was right above the toy, her elbow accidently hit the giant 'Grab' button and caused the claw to go down.

"What! No." Gwen sighed as the two of them, along with the whole audience that have come to see them attempt to win.

Anxiously everyone watched to see if Gwen's mistake would cause the game to be off course. The claw landed on the pink bear but not in the perfect position. The giant piece of metal grabbed and miraculously it pulled up not one, but two huge stuffed animals!

Both toys dropped into the slot and once again the 'Winner' music rang loud and clear. Trent's eyes bulged out off his head. Gwen just smirked and picked up her large prizes; the pink bear and a fuzzy light green frog.

"So. . . It looks like the student just outdid the master?" Gwen said.

"Looks like we share a hidden talent."

"You mean this isn't your only talent?"Gwen asked, forgetting Trent had even mentioned it was his hidden talent earlier on in the day.

"Nope. I play guitar and I'm blessed to have a decent singing voice." Trent explained to her.

"Awesome, so I guess I should teach you something then huh?" The teenage girl offered.

"You don't have to . . . how about this. If you find yourself another hidden talent, be prepared to teach me." Trent suggested.

Gwen smiled. "You have got yourself a deal."

With overly sized stuffed animals hanging over their shoulders, Gwen and Trent left the arcade hand in hand.

"Hey, what the heck are we going to do with all this cheap junk?"

"Beats me." Trent answered" I might keep them."

"Why, you don't seem like the guy to keep useless toys." Gwen chuckled lightly. Trent looked over and stared deep into her eyes.

"I think I want to keep it because you are the first person to actually seem to be interested in learning the claw game and well . . . like I said, I kind of like you."

Gwen heavily blushed and quickly said. "In that case, I'll keep mine too. It'll be a keepsake, so that when I'm old I can look back and see how great of a teacher you were."

"Cool, but still. You won two on both tries! Even I can't do that." Trent explained.

"Well then maybe I'll have to teach you. "Joked a laughing Gwen.

Trent just looked at her and smiled. "Maybe you will. Come on, let's get out of here."

**Wow . . . I just let all of my claw secrets out on this fic. Oh well . . . at least a feel a bit better now. Playing the claw games are like my hidden talent (I usually win on the first try) and I also taught one of my friend's, so I thought I would write about it. Oh of you can't visualize the giant claw; they are usually at amusement parks and so Dave and Buster's restaurants (I don't own those either . . .)**

**Also this my last fic for a while, school starts late for me but I need to finish summer reading and adjust to a new school. **

**Please review!**

**~Randi!**


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